president obama offered his optimism at an event with middle-class americans who'd be hit by any tax increase. >> i'm glad to see-- if you've been reading the papers lately-- - that more and more republicans in congress seem to be agreeing with this idea that we should have a balanced approach. so if both parties agree we should not raise taxes on middle class families, let's begin our work with where we agree. >> brown: one such lawmaker is republican house member tom cole of oklahoma. the journal "politico" reported he's urging colleagues to extend middle class tax cuts but allow tax rates for top earners to rise for now. that's what the president wants, but republican leaders have called for raising revenues by closing loopholes and capping deductions. and this morning, house speaker john boehner said he'd reinforced that position to congressman cole. >> you're not going to grow the economy if you raise tax rates on the top two rates. it'll hurt small businesses, it'll hurt our economy, it's why it's not the right approach. we're willing to put revenue on the table as long as we'r